Vermiwash Assisted Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Efficacy for Seed Nanopriming of Black Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
Rajwinder Kaur, Neeraj Rani and Nitish Dhingra
2025/05/19
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15465004
ABSTRACT
The priming of seeds with nanoparticles (NPs) has the potential to aid crop production and agricultural sustainability. Nevertheless, it depends on the crop type being investigated and NPs dosage. The present study reports the impact of seed nano-priming with varied concentrations of iron oxide (Fe2O3) NPs on the seedling growth of black chickpeas. Iron oxide NPs were synthesized via a chemical route using FeCl3 and Fe(NO3)3 as precursors, along with vermiwash (earthworm-based extract) and NaOH for adjusting the pH of the resulting solution. Seed nano-priming was carried out using different concentrations of iron oxide NPs (0, 10, 50, 100, 150, 200 ppm). The primed seeds were air-dried and evaluated for growth using a wet filter paper method. The grown seedlings were evaluated based on various growth parameters such as germination rate, root length, shoot length, root-to-shoot length ratio, fresh and dry weights, and seedling vigour indices (I and II). The study revealed that nano-priming with iron oxide NPs improved the germination percentage at the end of the seventh day and also led to enhancement in various growth indicators, such as root length, shoot length, biomass accumulation, and seedling vigour indices, compared to the control at all concentrations up to 150 ppm. Further increase in NPs concentration inhibited the seedling growth. The correlations among growth parameters were examined using Pearson correlation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) methods. This study demonstrated the potential of optimized doses of iron oxide NPs as co-fertilizer to aid early-stage growth in black chickpea.
AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS
1 Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India - 141004
2 School of Organic Farming, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India – 141004
3 Electron Microscopy & Nanoscience Lab, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India – 141004
CITATION
Kaur R, Rani N and Dhingra N (2025) Vermiwash Assisted Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Efficacy for Seed Nanopriming of Black Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Environmental Science Archives 4(1): 297-310.
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